James Franco is an American actor, filmmaker, painter, and writer who is well known for his role in "127 Hours" for which he was even nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. His role in "Spider-Man" trilogy(2002-07) also earned him worldwide recognition leading to several more hit movie roles including "Milk", "Eat, Pray, Love", "Rise of the Planet of the Apes", "Spring Breakers", "The Disaster Artist" and "Oz the Great and Powerful". 

Franco is also known for portraying the title character in the television biographical film, "James Dean" whilst his first prominent acting role was the character Daniel Desario on the short-lived ensemble comedy-drama, "Freaks and Geeks". Having his career started since the year of 1997, Franco has managed to come a long way up becoming one of the prominent actors in Hollywood.

Apart from his career as an actor, Franco also has taught film classes at several universities including New York University, the University of Southern California, UCLA, Studio 4, Palo Alto High School, and Playhouse West. Franco received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 8, 2013. 

Besides, he doesn't hold any social media accounts yet. 

What is James Franco Famous for?

• Famous as an Academy-Award nominated actor. 
• Known for his roles in "127 Hours", "James Dean" and "Spider-Man" trilogy. 

Source: @fanpop

Where is James Franco From?

James Franco was born on April 19, 1978, in Palo Alto, California, United States. His birth name is James Edward Franco. His nationality is American. Franco belongs to mixed ethnicity while Aries is his zodiac sign.

Born as the eldest son to his parents; Betsy Lou Verne(mother) and Douglas Eugene Franco(father), James grew up along with his two younger brothers, Tom and Dave in their hometown in a very academic, liberal, and largely secular environment. His mother, Betsy was a writer and actress from an immigrant Russian Jewish family, while his father, Douglas was a Silicon Valley businessman of Portuguese and Swedish descent. 

He was an academically talented student who was good at mathematics and even had good grades on his SATs later got interned at Lockheed Martin. He graduated from Palo Alto High School in 1996. While in high school, he acted in plays which led him to develop an interest to become an actor later attending CSSSA in 1998 for theater studies. 

Raised in a very accomplished family, Franco usually used to get involved in drinking and graffiti that he even got arrested once while in high school. With a secret desire to become an actor, he got enrolled at the University of California (UCLA) as an English major but dropped out after his first year (against his parents' will) to pursue a career as an actor.

Upon dropping the university, he wasn't supported by his parents so to support himself he began taking a late-night job at McDonald's. 

After 15 months of training at the Playhouse West, Franco started auditioning to get his first paid role in a television commercial for Pizza Hut. Later, in 2006, he got re-enrolled at UCLA with English as a major. He attended Columbia University’s MFA writing program, New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts for filmmaking, and Brooklyn College for fiction writing.

He then attended the MFA Program for Writers at North Carolina’s Warren Wilson College for poetry. He is a Ph.D. student in English at Yale University, and also attended the Rhode Island School of Design.

Source: @pinterest

James Franco's Career Highlights

• James Franco started his professional career when he was cast in a leading role in NBC’s television series, "Freaks and Geeks" in 1999. 
• He made his film debut with "Never Been Kissed" the same year in 1999. 
• He got his initial break when he was cast as the title role in director Mark Rydell's 2001 TV biographical film, "James Dean". 
• He achieved worldwide recognition with his role as Harry Osborn in the 2002 superhero film, "Spider-Man". He reprised the role in the 2004 sequel and 2007 sequel.  
• He starred in crime-drama films; "Sonny" and "City by the Sea" in 2002 and the ballet movie, "The Company"(2003).
• He made his directional debut in his starrer black comedy, "The Ape" in 2005. The same year, he portrayed Robert Prince in a war film, "The Great Raid".
• In 2006, Franco starred in "Annapolis", "Flyboys" and in "Tristan & Isolde". 
• He wrote, directed, and starred in "Good Time Max" released in 2007. 
• He next starred in "Pineapple Express"(2008), for which he was awarded High Times magazine's Stoner of the Year Award. 
• The same year, he portrayed the role of Scott Smith in the biographical film, "Milk". 
• In late 2009 he joined the cast of the daytime soap opera, "General Hospital" as Franco. He played the role for 3 years till 2012. 
• In 2010, he appeared in "30 Rock", "Date Night", "Eat Pray Love" and "Howl". 
• He next starred in the drama, "127 Hours" portraying real-life mountain climber Aron Ralston and also in "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" in 2010. 
• He then starred in "Your Highness", "About Cherry", "Oz the Great and Powerful", "Spring Breakers", "The Interview", "I Am Michael" and "True Story". 
• He also produced and directed a documentary titled "Saturday Night"
• In February 2014, Franco wrote an article in The New York Times in support of the metamodernist performance art of Shia LaBeouf. 
• In 2015, he was cast in the lead role for the Hulu limited series, "11.22.63". 
• He played Joseph Kerekes in the biographical film, "King Cobra" which he co-produced and starred in 2016. 
• In 2016, he directed, co-produced, and starred in "The Disaster Artist". 
• He starred in the David Simon-created HBO drama The Deuce (2017–2019).
• He has also published series of books named "Palo Alto". 

Source: @timesofisrael

Awards

• 2 Golden Globe Awards
• 2 Independent Spirit Awards
• 6 Festival Awards
• International Online Cinema Awards
• Hollywood Film Awards
• Over 26 Critics Awards

Source: @instyle

James Franco's Relationship and Dating

James Franco has been in a relationship with several women. He previously dated Marla Sokoloff, an actress whom he first met during the filming of "Whatever It Takes" in 1999. The couple dated for 5 years till 2004. He then dated actress Ahna O'Reilly until 2011. During the time, he also dated English actress, Sienna Miller in around June 2006 but they separated soon. 

He had a brief relationship with Agyness Deyn, a model, actress, and singer, and Riccardo Tisci, an Italian fashion designer. He also dated actress Amanda Seyfried in June 2012 after filming Lovelace with her. He then dated Anne Hathaway but separated soon. 

While filming Spine Breakers in 2012, he had a brief relationship with his co-star, Ashley Benson. He was also in a relationship with Kristen Stewart, Emilia Clarke, Kelly BaugherLana Del Rey, Scott Haze, and Erin Johnson. Currently, he is in a relationship with Isabel Pakzad whom he began dating in 2017. Despite the age gap of 15 years, the couple is having a proper relationship for over 4 years now. 

The couple was even spotted on a playful hike in Southern California in 2020. Besides, he has been doubted about his sexuality because of his portrayal of Gay men in movies that he once told, "I like to think that I'm gay in my art and straight in my life." He is also a supporter of LGBT. 

Source: @popsugar

James Franco's Net Worth

James Franco has quite good earnings from his professional career as an actor. Having his career started in the year 1999, Franco has managed to come a long way up becoming one of the prominent actors with his marvelous acting skills in his over three-decade-long career. His source of income is his appearances in movies, series also his articles. 

Including his earnings from movies and series, his net worth is estimated to be around $30 million with over $50k as his salary. With his million worth of fortune, he surely has managed to live a luxurious lifestyle. 

James Franco's Height

James Franco is a good-looking man with a well-maintained athletic body physique in his 40s. He stands tall with a height of 5ft. 10inch.(1.78m) while his body weighs around 76kg(167 lbs). He has a masculine body physique with 42 inches as his chest size, 31 inches as his waist size, and 14 inches as his biceps size. He has a fair complexion with brown hair and dark brown eyes.